Democratic engagement as denudation : moving beyond risk taking
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
HESA
Abstract
In this article, we argue that democratic engagement as a form of human action can be enhanced
if enacted through disclosure. Firstly, we expand on the notion of democratic engagement whereby
human action is enacted through democratic iterations, mutual respect and humanness. Secondly,
we argue that practising humanness, such as when one learns from others, can most appropriately
be enacted when one becomes reflectively open to the new, and reflectively loyal to the known.
Thirdly, because of the latter point, we draw on Giorgio Agamben’s (2011) notion of denudation
whereby it is argued that forms of human engagement can become substantively democratic if
enacted through an unconcealed disclosedness, in other words, an unveiling of the self in which
visibility and presence (nudity) hold sway. Inasmuch as others open themselves up to one, so one
ought to disclose oneself to others in order for the encounter to remain democratic. And, when
such a form of democratic engagement assumes a form of denudation, the possibility is always
there that human action will be enacted through an unveiling of the self, which is infinitely free of
secret. Hopefully then, democratic engagement will be more unconstrained and unrestricted by
that which might be otherwise contained.
Description
CITATION: Waghid, Y. & Davids, N. 2016. Democratic engagement as denudation : moving beyond risk taking. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(4):1-10, doi:10.20853/30-5-703.
The original publication is available at http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe
The original publication is available at http://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe
Keywords
Learning -- Social aspects, Risk-taking (Psychology), Democratic engagement, Humanness
Citation
Waghid, Y. & Davids, N. 2016. Democratic engagement as denudation : moving beyond risk taking. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(4):1-10, doi:10.20853/30-5-703